Can you overfeed?
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@Liv thanks for sharing your experience. It's so hard to know why she cries the house down. Trying to figure out. It's like she's in pain but when in offer the bottle she grabs it but then pushes away, then cries because it's gone then I give it again and she eats like she's starving 😂. It's amazing how she is too sleepy at night to eat but then binge eats in the day. I guess I'll just keep feeding her.
It's possible to overfeed. I would look into paced feeding. My midwife told me it's much easier to overfeed on formula than breast milk. Edited 😊
@Susie she cries the house down if she's not full. I'll look into paced feeding. I was thinking maybe she's just feeding for comfort but then once she's full she's happy as Larry for 2 hours then it's like the whole cycle again.... Trying to get my supply up with my new pumps and I'm happier if I can feed her my milk more
It's possible to overfeed with formula but very difficult. If baby is crying and is comforted by food, it means they're hungry. They're typically very good self-regulators, and will turn their heads away or push the bottle away, or simply delatch when they are full. Really, the only way parents overfeed formula babies is if they try to get them to "finish the bottle" and not waste formula, or eat on a fixed schedule when baby clearly doesn't want it, or get too focused on amounts. Basically if you're trying to get baby to eat when they don't want it. But otherwise, if you feed only on demand and only until baby turns away, it's highly unlikely. Spitting is also completely normal and not necessarily indicative of overfeeding. Babies spit because their sphincter muscles are underdeveloped. It's probably equivalent to an open-top glass of water sloshing around. But many are happy spitters (mine was), and it probably feels good after a big meal. Feed baby as long as they're asking for it!
@Melissa thanks great advice. I'm happy if she doesn't want to finish the bottle. I will tend to do smaller bottles so we don't waste it and if she wants more I'll do another one until she's satisfied. There are many times I did 5 Oz and she only wanted 1 Oz 😅
@Abbey yup, that's what I had to do. Mine was, and is a snacker. 😅 She was also notorious for screaming the house down until we finally gave in and got a bottle going, then she'd fall asleep while it was getting ready. 🤣 But yeah, people tend to focus on amounts with formula because they can see it, and there's a financial aspect there because formula is expensive and it sucks to see it go to waste, but as long as you go with baby's flow, you're highly unlikely to overfeed! Humans are born very good self-regulators, we learn behaviours like "clean your plate" later in life.
Yes you can overfeed with bottles whether it is formula or breastmilk inside. As for her pain and discomfort, formula is known to be harder to digest and more likely than breastmilk to cause issues with gas, constipation etc ❤️ Are you working with a lactation consultant? If your baby is happy to latch then you can let her comfort feed on your boobs for hours at a time - it will increase your supply and not over feed her
It takes 15mins for a baby’s mind to tell their tummy they r full. If she’s been feeding for 15mins and still acting hungry then it’s possible she’s still actually hungry! IMO it is possible to overfeed bc of throwing up ( I’ve dealt w it w my son) but yes look into pace feeding
@Susie, that's not accurate. Most babies spit up and even throw up, especially with trapped wind. I responsive/demand feed, so she eats when she wants to and as much or as little as she wants, and she tells me when she's full. Sometimes it's 2oz top up and sometimes it's a full 5oz (she's never eaten more than this and she's combi fed, moving onto full formula in the future as my supply is tanking). @Abbey look into responsive or demand feeding. Susie is right about the paced feeding, though, it's better all round for them. It does take longer per feed but you get less spit up and less wind. You can paced feed for both formula and BM or both.
Now she slept through the night and is still sleeping since 10pm , her last feed was at 9pm..... It's currently 6.30am.... me on the other hand woke up every few hours to check on her....
@Genevieve I always try latch her on my breast first but in these moments she's absolutely not interested in that. She's very clear she wants the bottle. ...
Both of my boys ate every 2 hours on formula and actually ate large amounts for their ages the entire time they were on formula. Our Drs were always pleased with how much they ate and while some people say only BF babies can't over eat I disagree and say all babies are that way. They will stop when they are full. It sounds like she knows when she's hungry if she's content sleeping through the night so I say feed her if she wants it!